Terminal
by ap gato
Summary: Two words devastated Hermione Granger. Will Ron’s phrase be the prompt Hermione needs to confess her feelings? Or, will it merely push her over the edge? Dark romance. Story is better than the summary. Please RR


Gato: Well, here's a new mini-fic for all Harry Potter fans. It's angsty, I will warn you from now. Hmmm, according to my computer 'angsty' is not a word. Oh well. As the summary thing said, it is a dark (or tragic) romance.

Irie: Those are always fun!!

Gato: Yes, that's exactly what I was going for. Fun…

Irie: Oh well. This girl only owns the plot. I mean, if she owned the characters, she wouldn't be writing for this website, now would she?

………………………………………

I've sat by his side for weeks. Before this, I didn't realize wizards could suffer from cancer. How foolish of me to think of it as a disease restricted to Muggles. My ignorance, that's correct, my _ignorance_ caused my strange reaction when Ron first told us.

"**Guys, I have something to tell you," he whispered. I refused to believe the serious tone of his voice. Earlier that day, we had a fight about the use of Sugar Quills. We always got into strange fights like that. Now, I realize why I thrived on them.**

**I responded cruelly. "Let me guess. You forgot to do your Potions essay, again."**

"**No, actually," he replied, with less venom than I expected. "I've…I've been diagnosed with cancer. Leukemia, to be precise."**

**My hand paused above my Ancient Runes textbook. _Cancer?_ I thought to myself. _How can he have cancer._**

"**Are they sure?" Harry demanded. His natural colour lightened by several shades. Beside him, Ginny's large eyes shone as she clung to her famous boyfriend.**

"**Yeah." Ron fidgeted with his robe. "They've been doing tests for a while now."**

**A loud sob escaped Ginny's mouth. She separated herself from Harry and wrapped her arms tightly around her brother. "You'll be able to fight it," she chocked. "You're stronger than this. You'll beat it, won't you?"**

**Ron slowly removed his sister's arms from around his neck. "Gin, I'm afraid I won't be able to fight it."**

"**But there have got to be treatments!" Harry shouted, his anger a mask for his grief. "Why don't they just do some chemotherapy and…"**

"**They've tried that Harry," Ron interrupted softly. I felt my breathing quicken. My textbook began to slide out of my hands. "It's terminal."**

**My textbook thudded to the floor. The entire room fell silent as I replayed his words in my mind. _Terminal,_ my mind cried. _That means he's going to die._**

**When I finally focused again, Ginny's desperate sobs echoed throughout the sparsely populated common room. She clung to her brother's shirt. Her sorrow left her immobilized by his chair. Harry looked stunned. Tears formed behind his thick glasses as he clenched his fists around a pillow. I finally reacted, violently and suddenly. I stood quickly, a shrill, uncontrollable laugh escaping my lips.**

"**You're lying!" I cried, willing my words to be true. "You're a liar Ronald Weasley!" Ron regarded me with awe. I'm sure I appeared quite insane. My laughter lessened and finally transformed into distressed tears as I repeatedly called him a liar. I ran from the common room, and the horrid truth of his words. When I collapsed in room, I finally realized that I truly loved Ron Weasly, and now I was loosing him.**

**A week later, Ron collapsed on his way to class. Madame Pomfrey rushed him to the nearest hospital. They attached him to a machine to monitor his heart rate. I still find it odd that a wizard hospital would use a Muggle medical tool. **

I haven't left the hospital since Ron was admitted, nearly two weeks ago. Ginny and Harry visit frequently and bring me my homework. They know I love Ron. They've always known. When Mrs. Weasly pays her daily visits, we sob together for the loss we know will occur. I pray that somehow, Ron will beat the disease. The doctors say that the cancer progresses every day. Every day, Ron is closer to death.

One day, I returned from the cafeteria to find Ron awake. I ran to the side of the bed and took his hand. "Ron?" I whispered. "Ron, can you hear me?"

He slowly his head and smiled. "Of course I can hear you, 'Mione. Do you think I've gone deaf?"

"No," I breathed, "no, of course not."

Ron studied me closely and frowned. I felt the colour rise in my cheeks. "Hermione, you look exhausted. When was the last time you had a proper sleep?"

"Just last night," I lied quickly.

"You're lying to me."

"It's fine, Ron, really." I felt tears burn my eyelids once more. "I've been sleeping enough. I'm more worried about you."

"Why?"

"Well, because…" I paused and tried to summon to courage to tell him. "Because I wanted to tell you that Sugar Quills _are_ useful. You were right."

He studied me closely, always able to see through my feeble lies. I hated myself for my cowardice. The intensity of his gaze caused me to blush profusely. Finally he muttered, "You like Sugar Quills now, do you?"

"Yeah," I replied, honestly. They had been the only way I had managed to stay awake these past few weeks. I ate at lease one every day. I smiled weakly, "I like how sweet they are."

Ron returned my smile. Just then, Ginny and Harry entered the room. "Ron!" Ginny squeaked, hugging her brother lightly.

"How are you feeling, man?" Harry asked softly. I wanted to find a way to comfort Harry. He had dealt with so much death in his life, and now, he was loosing his best friend. Unfortunately, I couldn't even find a way to comfort myself. I slipped silently out of the room and leant against a wall. The tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I crumpled to the ground. I didn't know how much longer I could put on this pretence of stability. I tried to comfort everyone else, but _I_ desperately needed solace. Somewhere between my tears and my feverish wishes for Ron's recovery, I slept.

…

In my dream, I circled a large ballroom. All its inhabitants wore beautiful masks to match their costumes and twirled gracefully. My own costume resembled an angel, wings and all. I tall, red-head dressed as a knight approached me. Without a word, he gently took my hand and led me around the dance floor. I knew immediately the identity of my escort. "Ron…" I began.

He silenced me with a delicate kiss. "Let's just dance."

The sweet bliss of the dance lasted for hours. He held me close as we twirled about the floor. Might feet never tired, and each step felt soft and cushioned. Finally, Ron led me to a corner of the dance floor. I looked into his eyes and he kissed me once more.

"Ron, I…" I paused, "I love you."

"And I have always loved you, Hermione," he whispered.

"But now I'm loosing you!" I cried, my emotions ruining my calm exterior.

"You'll never lose me, Hermione. I will always be with you and I will always love you." And with that he kissed me once more, passionately and longingly. We separated to breathe, and I opened my eyes slowly to find a dark, empty space.

"Ron!" I shouted loudly. "Ron! Don't leave me like this. I need you. I need you." I wrapped my arms around myself and sunk to the ground. I had lost him, despite his reassuring words. I cried bitterly until the blare of a car horn sounded. I looked up to see a pair of headlights a few feet in front of me. When they continued to approach, I shrieked.

…

"Hermione? Hermione, are you alright?" A voice demanded. I jumped and opened my eyes. I shoved several curls off my face, only to find them soaked in sweat. I looked up to see Harry and Ginny bending over me.

"What happened?" I asked shakily.

"You fell asleep," Ginny said nervously. "Harry and I were on our way to the cafeteria and we found you."

"Oh," I whispered. "I guess I haven't been sleeping well lately. Is Ron still awake? There's something I wanted to tell him."

"Yeah, he's still awake." Harry's voice sounded hollow. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around my best friend as he sobbed. When he managed to take control of his emotions again, Ginny led him to the cafeteria.

I took a deep breath and slowly entered Ron's room. He lay on his pillows; his frail, pale form scared me. The small beeps of the heart-rate monitor had become less frequent. "Ron. There's something I want to tell you," I began quickly.

He slowly turned his head in my direction. "What is it, 'Mione?"

"Ron," I steadied my voice, "Ron, I love you." The room remained silent with the exception of the rhythmic beeps from the machine.

"I hoped you did," he finally replied. "Because I've loved you since we were both eleven. I can't believe it took me six years to finally admit it." He laughed feebly.

I dashed to his side and pressed my lips into his. He held me softly and I wished the kiss would last forever. When we finally parted, I wore a large smile. He entwined his fingers with mine and we talked quietly about our past years together. Speaking with him brought back a flood of joyous memories. I didn't even notice the large elapses of time between beeps. In the middle of a joke, Ron flat lined. The beeps became an incessant, monotone sound. I merely stared in shock, too surprised to move or call for help. Doctors arrived rapidly and removed me from his side. They tried vainly to bring my beloved Ron back. I stumbled out of the room and through the hospital, my eyes barely seeing the surroundings. Ron had died. Despite his kind words and the love we shared, he left me alone in this world. I didn't know how to survive without my beloved.

Eventually I found myself standing on the curb, tears cascading down my cheeks. Life held no purpose without my Ronald. I heard a car horn blare, like in my dream. I turned my head slowly, my decision made. A large van sped around the corner, the headlights blinding. I stepped off the curb.

_I'm coming to you, Ron. We'll be together forever. I will always love you._

………………………………

Gato: That's all.

Irie: Uh…are you okay? This is kind of dark. Almost as dark as the nights in Lint Land!

Gato: Yeeeeees. So, I hope you enjoyed my little ficlet. Please review, as your input is greatly appreciated.

Irie: Yep, reviews are happy! Review, please!


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